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Task Force in Action: U.P.E.M. Festival
The Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force took part in the 14th Annual U.P.E.M. (Unidos Padres, Estudiantes, and Maestros)multicultural festival and parade on February 26th. The parade traveled through two miles of the Issac community in West Phoenix, and concluded at Carl Hayden High School for the festival. The Task Force distributed our Foreclosure Information Workbook and loan modification scam prevention materials at the event. The bright yellow "loan scam alert bags" were a big hit at the festival and provided a convenient way to help spread our message! Check out Sylvia Waynick, Project Manager of the Task Force, in action below!
 
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Upcoming Events
The Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force relies on volunteer participation to make a difference! Please contact Sylvia Waynick (Project Manager) at swaynick@nhsphoenix.org to schedule your support. |
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Task Force in Action: Save Your Home Event
The City of Phoenix and the Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force collaborated to produce a "Helping Homeowners Prevent Foreclosure" event at Tomahawk Elementary in West Phoenix on February 24th. The event featured the presentation of a video that discussed homeowner's options to prevent foreclosure, the foreclosure process in Arizona, and how to avoid loan modification scams. The video, which runs on PHX11, includes a piece by Patricia Garcia Duarte who is Chair of the Task Force. Patricia covers the different modification programs that are available to homeowners in distress.
Tryone Hibbs from the City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department was one of the event's organizers and was also on hand to help facilitate the presentation to the community. Tyrone said he hopes the event will be the first of many similar outreach efforts in the valley. He said the City of Phoenix is planning on "one event in each council district, and others if people want them." Tryone stressed the significance of choosing Tomahawk Elementary, in the 85033 area code, as the location of the community meeting. He described this area code as "the middle of ground zero for the foreclosure crisis." According to Tyrone there are 571 bank owned properties and 747 pending foreclosures in the 85033 area code. Finally, Tyrone said the main goal of events like this are for "people in a delinquent situation to sit down with a counselor and find out what steps they need to take to request a loan modification."
Another important component of the event was the availability of HUD counselors to provide initial guidance to the event's attendees. Three counselors were on hand to outline possible options for homeowners facing foreclosure. Dollie Medina, foreclosure intervention counselor with LCSA, said she wants "to make people realize there is free help out there." Dollie and the other counselors offered an important service to a community in desperate need of assistance. She said she was volunteering with the Task Force to "help an area with a major foreclosure problem."
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Counselor's Corner
Each month's newsletter will include a discussion with those in the trenches of the foreclosure crisis in the State, a non-profit HUD counselor. This month's edition focuses on some insights relayed by Rita Johnson of Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix.
Rita has come across numerous clients who have either fallen victim to loan modification scams or those who have been solicited by scammers. She stresses the importance of educating homeowners in distress about the common warning signs of loan modification scams. In addition, Rita passes on examples of scam letters that her client's receive to Sylvia Waynick, Project Manager of the Task Force. Rita said investors "use public resources to find out what houses are up for Trustee's sale for and hope to take advantage."
Rita said a successful loan modification is most often the result of a counselor and client working as a cohesive unit. She advises her clients to "be very pro-active by calling the servicer every two weeks to check the status of their file." Rita urges clients to forward requested documents as soon as possible to the servicer to ensure a quicker decision. Finally, Rita said clients "need to have an increased awareness of what is going on with their home." |
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24/7 Homeowner Assistance
The Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at 1-877-448-1211 is a free and confidential helpline that refers families in distress to a local foreclosure intervention counselor. The hotline, in operation since 2008, was made possible by a $1.3 million federal grant to the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH). The ADOH contracts with Community Information and Referral Services to staff the call center. The Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force's role is to help expand the visibility of the hotline's number and direct community members to this important service. Here are some telling results from the 2010 hotline report: - There were 11,822 callers to the hotline.
- 8,745 callers were referred to a service provider, including counseling agencies.
- The three most common ways that callers heard about the hotline were through professional connections, brochures or flyers, and the internet.
Please help us continue to utilize this valuable resource that connects families with an important opportunity to save their home. Our community members need to be aware that foreclosure assistance is always free and offered through certified counselors. |
